Alex and Emily: Soul Mates Since Sixth Grade

Photographer Meely Dunn’s engagement session in Princeton with Alex and Emily, who’s love story began way back in the sixth grade…

“Alex and I met in 6th grade Language Arts class. We became friends, and realized we lived around the corner from each other! We started walking home from school together with some of our other friends. That’s when I knew I had a crush on Alex. We were best friends until finally he asked me out in 8th grade. (over AIM of course!)

One night all of our friends were playing manhunt. We ended up on the same team, and had our first kiss. We were both so nervous we just kept playing manhunt and didn’t tell anyone.

On our first Valentine’s day (still 8th grade), Alex called me over to his locker to give me a present. He opened his locker and pulled out the biggest stuffed bear I have ever seen and gummy bears (my favorite). He gave it to me, and I had to walk down the hallway to my locker with this enormous bear!! I still sleep with it to this day. I gave him Lindt chocolates (his favorite). Every Valentine’s day since then, we’ve given each other gummy bears and chocolates!

Before we had cell phones, we had to make our weekend plans during school so we wrote each other notes in class. We finally got cell phones and didn’t have to write notes anymore. Little did we know, both of us were saving all of our cute notes. We still have them in boxes at our apartment.

Once high school rolled around we had already been dating for a few years. Our junior year we had to start considering colleges. We decided we wouldn’t tell each other where we decided to go, so we didn’t feel pressure to go to the same place. A lot of couples break up in college, and we wanted to make sure we made the decision for ourselves. Once all of our applications were in and we had made our decisions, we sat down to tell each other where we were going. Crazy enough, we both announced the University of Delaware! We were headed to college together! Soon enough we graduated high school, both in the top 20 of our class, and got ready for college.

In college we got our dorm assignments, and through a totally random process got placed in connecting buildings. (Can you believe our luck yet?? It was fate!) Through all of college we stayed together and once graduation came we started to make plans for the real world. I cried the entire way home leaving my senior college apartment, and Alex rubbed my back the whole time. We got our first apartment together and settled into our new lives.

A few months after graduation, Alex proposed! He took me to get my favorite ice cream, and I asked him why we had to get ice cream when it was cold out!! I thought he was shaking because he was cold, but he was so nervous. Of course I said yes! Even though we were so young when we started dating, we both have said we always knew the other person was the one we were supposed to be with. We never had any doubt. Now that we’re married, we actually look back and laugh because honestly not much has changed!”